


Always Loved, Never Forgotten -- Alternate Version

by Jem4ever



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Ali and Em have three kids, Alison died in the first version cause she was on one of the planes, But she doesn't in this one, Ezra and Aria have two kids, F/F, F/M, Haleb is going to adopt, Harper (12) & Finley (4), Jonathan "Jon" (9) and Gracelyn + Lillien "Grace"/"Lily" (3 months), Spoby is expecting their first child, This is an alternate version of my Emison 9/1 two-shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-08-05 02:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16359020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jem4ever/pseuds/Jem4ever
Summary: This is an alternative version of my Emison 9/11 two-shot story. It has a different ending and is much longer than the first. Alison does not die in the crash when Flight 175 out of Boston, Massachusetts hits the South Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001.





	1. Emily's Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! If you know me from FF.net then you know that I did an Emison 2-shot for 9/11. Alison was on Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower. She called Emily and then her friends and family to tell them goodbye.
> 
> Well, this is exactly the same with one difference. Alison doesn't die! Please review, give Kudos, etc. and let me know what you thought. :)

 

* * *

_**Tuesday, September 11, 2001 (5:00 a.m.)** _

* * *

**_*Dilaurentis-Fields Residence. Around 5 a.m.*_ **

It's just before 5 a.m. in the Dilaurentis-Fields household and there is only one person awake. Emily has come back from putting the twins down for another couple of hours or so, after giving them both their early morning feedings and walks to the kitchen to get the coffee ready.

She enters the kitchen just as her phone rings. It's Alison's ringtone and she answers it eagerly.

"Hey, baby," Emily greets. Alison is in Boston on a business trip. She was scheduled to be home tomorrow, but finished up early and is flying in today. She will be home in time to surprise Jonathan at school when she picks him up.

" _Hey, Em! How's everything there? The kids giving you a hard time or anything?_ "

"No, nothing like that. Jon was very helpful last night with the twins. He took a shower and laid his clothes out without much fuss and kept the babies entertained while I had a shower and something to eat."

 _"_ _Wow! Maybe we should think about paying him more,"_ Alison and Emily give Jon an allowance each week of $5. It has been enough until recently when Jon asked for a raise because he wants to be able to save money up to a certain amount faster.

As of now, the allowance is the only money he is getting. He does not get paid for chores since he is Emily and Alison's "helper", doing the chores side-by-side to them. He does have to pick his toys up, clean the dinner/breakfast plates from the table, make his bed every morning, lay his clothes out, pick up his dirty ones, as well as keep up with taking a shower, brushing teeth/hair by himself, etc.

For the most part, Jon is a very well-behaved 9-year-old. He does have the normal "boy" attitude but mostly keeps up with his chores, always offers to help Alison and Emily, and is wonderful with his sisters. He absolutely adores them.

"That's what I was thinking. Maybe we could discuss when you get home?"

 _"_ _That sounds good. I was just wanting to call you to say that I am going to be getting on a plane soon. I'll be there around 11 a.m. or so. I'm going to come home, freshen up, and then go to pick him up for lunch?"_

"That sounds good. How about I come with you. I can go in to check him out and then you can surprise him in the car?" Alison agrees to that and, after speaking for a while longer, she says she has to go because her flight is being called.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

**_*6 a.m.*_ **

Around 6:15 a.m., Emily heads upstairs to wake Jon. Then, she goes to make him some oatmeal, bacon, and eggs while he gets dressed.

As she is getting everything out of the fridge and cabinet and is putting the eggs in the skillet, she hears Jon scream from upstairs. She quickly turns the stove off and runs upstairs.

She finds Jon in his room. He has his jeans and socks on, and Emily can see his shirt crumpled up on the floor in front of him. Rushing over, Emily checks her son for injuries and, not seeing any, she becomes even more concerned.

"J-bug, what's the matter? Why did you scream?" Jon doesn't say a word. Instead, he points to the TV where his eyes have yet to move from.

It is then that Emily realizes Jon is not watching cartoons like he usually does. He is watching the news. And the coverage sends chills down Emily's body as her mind fully takes in what it is showing.

**The news broadcast channel is showing the World Trade Center. One of the towers has smoke coming from it.

_It appears there is more and more fire and smoke enveloping the very top of the building and as fire crews are descending on this area it-it does not appear that there's any kind of an effort up there yet. Now, remember – oh, my God…that looks like a second plane…_

The rest drowns out as it dawns on Emily what exactly it is she is seeing.

The Twin Towers have been hit by two planes. She can barely comprehend it.

And, as she turns Jon away from the TV, not wanting him to see anymore, she doesn't realize yet that the plane they just witnessed hitting the South Tower, is Flight 175 out of Boston, Massachusetts.

The flight that is bound for Los Angeles, California.

The one Emily is supposed to go to the airport at 11 a.m. to wait on.

The plane that Alison is on right now because she finished her business trip early and is flying home a day before she was scheduled for.

No one knows that Emily's world is about to be turned upside down

* * *

 


	2. Flight 175 to Los Angeles, California

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily calls the girls and invites them over. She makes the decision not to send Jon to school, and everyone learns of Alison being on the Flight 175 that was bound for LA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the follow up chapter for the last one. This is still with Emily and everyone else. The next chapter will be with Alison.
> 
> Trigger Warning: This is set on and around the events that took place in New York on September 11, of 2001. Please be cautious while reading.

* * *

 

**_*30 minutes later*_ **

Emily decides at that moment that she is not going to send Jon to school. She brings him downstairs after checking on the twins again.

Emily sends Jon to the living room, helping to find the remote and turns on some cartoons. She lets him watch SpongeBob because it is his favorite. Normally, Alison and Emily would not want him to watch it, – it's usually reserved for Christmas or his birthday, a special time, – however, after seeing what he did just moments ago, Emily thinks this is the perfect time to let it slide.

After making sure he is ok, she goes to the kitchen to make breakfast. Emily also turns on the little TV on the corner of the kitchen counter, so she can watch the news coverage without frightening Jon any more than he already is.

She is halfway through making the eggs, having already done the toast and bacon, when she gets a call from Aria. She's hysterical and honestly, Emily doesn't blame her.

She tells Emily that Harper, who, like Jon, watches TV in the mornings, saw the news of the Twin Towers being hit.

Understandably, the 12-year-old was frightened beyond being calmed down, as she is older and can understand a little more than Jon about what exactly it was she was watching.

Aria wants to know if Emily thinks she should send Harper to school but agrees with her when Emily tells her she is keeping Jon home.

Aria tells her that she, Ezra, Harper, and their son, Finley, are coming over. They pick Hanna and Caleb up on the way there, and Spencer and Toby show up shortly after the rest arrive.

Soon, Emily has her three best friends in the kitchen with her, helping her to make breakfast for everyone, while the boys, – Caleb, Toby, and Ezra, – are in charge of entertaining the kids.

It is then that Emily has a feeling she should call Ali. She can't exactly explain it, but she just has the feeling that she should get ahold of Ali to check up on her.

Even though she knows that Alison is up in the air right now and will most likely not answer, she tries anyway.

The no answer to her call doesn't bother as her much as it does when she texts Alison and does not get a response.

"Huh, that's weird," Hearing the comment, Hanna comes over to her.

"What's up?"

"Alison is not responding to my messages. She should if she's up in the air, but there's nothing." Emily tilts the phone to show Hanna when the blonde looks at it over her shoulder.

"She may be up in the air and can't text or receive any messages right now," Spencer says but Emily just shakes her head.

"No, she's been up there long enough to be able to turn her phone on and use it." And it is then, almost as if tailored to Emily's needs, that she and the others hear from the TV,

_"_ _We're coming to you live from New York right now where two planes have hit the World Trade Center. We now have confirmation on what flights hit which tower and *** has that information now…_

_"_ _Yes, thank you, ***. Authorities have confirmed that it was Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people aboard, which departed from Boston's Logan International Airport en route to Los Angeles, which hit the North Tower."_

_"_ _And um…_ _United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, which departed from Boston, and was also en route to Los Angeles, was the plane to hit the South Tower."_

Emily feels like the breath has been knocked out of her as she hears that. Flight 175 from Boston, Massachusetts is the flight Alison is on. It's one Emily is set to go to the airport and wait on to pick Ali up.

It is the one that flew into the South Tower and now, well, now Emily has no idea if her wife is alive or not.

* * *

**Super, super short, I know, but I figured that it was best to leave it here. Next up is a chapter with Alison. It will be longer.** **Please review! Let me know what you thought. :)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Here are the kids and a little about them. :)
> 
> Jonathan Wayne Dilaurentis-Fields – 9 years old. Big brother to twin girls. Resembles Emily the most. Jon is a quiet boy and keeps to himself. He enjoys going to the pool with Emily.
> 
> Lillien Pamela Dilaurentis-Fields "Lily" – 3 months old. She is the oldest twin. Lily is a very happy baby, always smiling and giggling. She loves having her big brother make silly faces at her. 
> 
> Gracelyn Jessica Dilaurentis-Fields "Grace" – 3 months old. She is the youngest twin. Resembles Alison is in both her looks and personality. She loves being the center of attention, and enjoys being played with by Jon.
> 
> Harper Ella Montgomery-Fits – 12 years old. Big sister to Finley. She loves school, and she has inherited her parents' love of photography.
> 
> Finley Oliver Montgomery-Fits "Finn" – 4 years old. Loves his cars and trucks and staying at home with his daddy. Finn looks like Ezra. He has blue eyes and curly brown hair.
> 
> Hanna and Caleb are waiting to hear back from the adoption agency, and Spencer and Toby are pregnant with their first child.


	3. Alison’s Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be with Ali and her morning at the airport.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Here is chapter 3. I'm really excited to get this story going. Just 2 more chapters and we will move away from September 11th.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

 

* * *

_**Tuesday, September 11th, 2001  
Boston, Massachusetts** _

* * *

  _ ***7**_ _ **:00 a.m.*** _

At exactly seven in the morning, Alison Dilaurentis-Fields' alarm clock in the hotel where she is staying goes off. She is to be at the airport in just over an hour, so she can fly home to be with her wife and children, whom she has not seen since last Friday.

Alison quickly throws on some clothes, just a comfortable shirt and pants that also look "half decent." She packs her toiletries, grabs her shoes and jacket, and loads up the trolley with her suitcases.

At the airport, Alison stands in line to check in. There are tons of people here, milling around, some hurrying to get to their business meetings, and Ali even spots a mother and her three children holding up a sign. She watches as the crowd of people just unboarding a plane disperses and a man dressed in camo is greeted by the three children running over to him, screaming "Daddy!"

Once she is checked in, Ali goes to the waiting area for her gate. Then she decides to call Emily. Her wife should be up with their twin daughters right now.

 _"Hey, baby,"_ Emily greets.

"Hey, Em! How's everything there? The kids giving you a hard time or anything?"

_"No, nothing like that. Jon was very helpful last night with the twins. He took a shower and laid his clothes out without much fuss and kept the babies entertained while I had a shower and something to eat."_

Alison is impressed with this. Don't get her wrong, Jon is by no means a child with behavioral issues or anything, but he is still a nine-year-old boy who has his occasional moments of disrespect, attitude, and not listening.

"Wow! Maybe we should think about paying him more,"

_"That's what I was thinking. Maybe we could discuss when you get home?"_

"That sounds good. I was just wanting to call you to say that I am going to be getting on a plane soon. I'll be there around 11 a.m. or so. I'm going to come home, freshen up, and then go to pick him up for lunch?"

 _"Sounds good. How about I come with you. I can go in to check him out and then you can surprise him in the car?"_ Alison agrees to that and, after speaking for a while longer, Alison says she has to go because her flight is going to be called soon.

Ali takes her phone and plugs it up in one of the many outlets underneath the window.

She has approxmately 25 minutes before she has to baord, so she decides to do the last minutes things, go to the bathroom and grab a bottle of water from a vending machine.

As Alison is looking through a magazine, she hears a sudden cry from what sounds like a young child. Looking up, she sees a redheaded little boy, no older than 3 or 4. An older child, this one about 8 or 9, also a boy, is standing beside the younger child, while he holds his cheek as a little one would after being hit in the face.

Looking around, she does not see any adults that may be their parents, nor does anyone else seem to have noticed what is going on, so she stands up and approaches the two.

"Hey, there, guys. What's going on here? Where are your parents?"

"Papa has gone," The older boy has an accent, Alison guesses it's British. "Mum told us to wait here. Tommy was not listening. I just gave him a pop like Mum would."

Pushing back the urge to scold this child for slapping or "popping" his younger brother in the face, she says, "Well, now. Let's just come over here and sit down, shall we?"

She brings the two over to her seat and has them sit down. "Now, can you two tell me your names? My name is Alison. What are yours? How old are you two?"

"My name is Charlie. I am nine years old. This is my brother Thomas, but we call him Tommy. He is turning 4 in two weeks."

"Okay, Charlie and Tommy. Can either of you tell me where your mom is right now?"

Charlie shrugs as an answer. "Mum told us to wait here. She did not say where she was going."

Alison sighs. She looks around for anyone that may be looking for their children. She sees men and women dressed for conferences. She sees families dressed in matching shirts as if they are going somewhere fun for a vacation. She sees little girls and boys at the window, watching the planes take off and land.

But she does not see anyone who Charlie and Tommy may belong to.

"OK, it is going to all right. I need you to wait here, okay?" Charlie nods while Tommy is still sniffling. Alison gets out a bag of chips and some water. "Here is a snack for you two. It's ok. Go ahead and take it." Charlie takes the water while Tommy gets the chips. She helps him open it, and he eagerly begins eating them.

"I am going to go to a service desk and ask for them to page your mom, alright? Can you tell me what her name is?"

"Um…" Suddenly, Charlie does not look like the confident 9-year-old he was moments ago. He straightens up and begins to look panicked. "N-no, you don't have to do that, Miss Alison. Our mom-she told…she really told us that we should meet her in the…um…" Alison just raises an eyebrow as the little boy flounders for an explanation, an excuse, anything at all.

"McDonald's!" Tommy pipes up. "Mummy said 'meet me at McDonald's'"

"Yes!" Charlie is quickly agreeing, jumping up from the seat. "That's right, she said McDonald's. Come on, Tommy." The younger boy jumps up also. He grabs his brother's hand and the two take off before Alison can get even get a single word out.

Standing up from her bent position, she looks around. She gets fleeting sight of Charlie before he disappears into the crowd.

Alison just sighs deeply, throwing her hands up as she plops down onto one of the chairs. She gets out the magazine and doesn't even get halfway through a paragraph before her flight number and gate is being called.

Alison grabs her purse, her water, and her suitcase, and heads to the line. The person greets her and she hands him her ticket. Checking that it is right, Alison is sent through the terminal.

Alison just can't stop smiling. In less than four hours, she will see Emily, Jon, and Lily and Grace. She feels giddy. It may seem silly, but this is the longest Ali has been away from her family since getting married.

Usually, Emily and Alison would take Jon out of school for Ali's buisness trips. They would extend the trip a few days and go have fun, since they were far and few over the years. Now, they have 3-month-old twins and so they can't just pack up and leave for a few days.

As Alison is taking her seat, she looks through her purse for her MP3 player, so she can listen to some music. As she digs around, she realizes she does not have her wallet. Which means she has no money and she does not have her driver's license or any of her credit cards.

Panicking, she stands up and finds a flight attendant. She pleads with her to let her off. She really needs to go find her wallet.

She has no idea of the actual reason she feels the need to get off the plane.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 3! You got to see some stuff in Alison's point of view. The part with Charlie and Tommy was completely random and basically filler. It won’t be relevant to the story. I just needed something to make the chapter longer.
> 
> The next chapter will go back and forth between Emily and Ali and have a lot more details.
> 
> Please review! Let me know what you thought. I would love to know! :)


	4. No Longer in Service

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls, guys, and kids find out that Alison was on Flight 175

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to MedHeadsUnite for reviewing, and to QueenKoala and Guest for the Kudos! :)

_**Tuesday, September 11** _ _**th** ,_ _**2001  
Los Angeles, California** _

* * *

 

**_*Meanwhile, with Emily in California*_ **

Emily is filled with dread, pure _dread_ as she hears the announcement. The girls look at her in shock and concern as her face drains of color and she stumbles to a chair.

"Emily?" Aria, who is closest to her, comes over. "Em, what's going on?"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Emily says, "That's Alison's plane." A silence follows this statement. The girls look back at the TV as the video is replaying the plane hitting the South Tower.

Finally, Spencer finds her voice. "Wha-what… _what the hell_ are you talking about? Alison isn't coming home until tomorrow. Why-wh-…why would she be on a plane _today_?"

Emily rakes her hands over her face. This was supposed to be a good thing. This was supposed to be a fun surprise for Emily and the kids and Alison.

Now…

Well, now it's nothing more than a nightmare.

"Ali was coming home today," Emily finally whispers. "It was going to a surprise. I was supposed to pick her up and take her to check Jon out for lunch."

She glances around the room at the three girls she has known since she was 8 years old. Hanna and Aria are in tears. Spencer looks close to it, but Emily knows she is holding it together because _someone_ needs to.

Emily hears a sound and turns around.

It's Jonathan, standing in the kitchen doorway. He has tears streaming down his face.

He sees her and runs over. Emily catches Jon, lifting him up into her lap as he begins sobbing. Hearing this, hearing her little boy crying over something he should never be experiencing, her emotions are no longer in her control.

"I know, baby," She whispers this as Jon buries his face in her neck. "I know. You're ok. You're all right." She doesn't tell _it_ is ok. She doesn't tell him _it will_ be ok. Because she has no clue.

She has absolutely no clue whether _it_ will _ever_ be ok.

"I-I-I… I want M-mommy!" Jon cries, barely comprehensible through his sobs.

Emily looks up, making eye contact with the guys who have come to make sure Jon _didn't_ go into the kitchen. She looks around the room as Caleb comes to wrap an arm around Hanna and Finley runs to Aria. He does not understand at all of what is going on.

All he knows is his sissy, his cousins, his mommy and daddy, and his aunts and uncles are sad. And crying. And look scared. And no one will tell what is going on.

"Mommy, what's *sniffle* what's going on?" Ezra picks him up. Harper comes over. He pulls his wife and daughter into his arms. Being 12, Harper knows the most. Understands the most. A plane hit the Twin Towers. She may not understand _why_ but she does get that that will mean countless people who are now dead.

"Emily," its Toby that pulls her out of her thoughts. "Em, why don't you call Alison? She's in Boston, right? Maybe she can tell us more. Maybe she knows more of what is going on."

Emily nods. She doesn't have the heart to tell him that _yes,_ Alison is in Boston, _but_ unless by some miracle she did not get on that plane, then she is already dead. She's probably gone.

But, she does it anyway. She _needs_ to do it. Jon _needs_ her to do it. Lily and Grace, well, they may be, be attending to by Spencer who is no longer in the kitchen, who left once she heard the cries on the baby monitor, but they _need_ her to.

So, she does.

Emily pulls the house phone from the wall.

She listens to the dial tone before pushing the numbers she has long memorized.

She listens, as she gets no response whatsoever.

No ringing.

No voicemail.

No "busy" dial tone.

Nothing.

She hangs up and redials.

And she redials.

Again. And again, and again, and again.

She realizes what it means the sixth time she gets the "We're sorry. The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Please try again later."

She looks around again. She can see it in their faces. The girls realize. The guys, they don't know that Alison was coming home today. They have no idea.

Until Aria chokes it out when it is clear Emily is unable to. She doesn't say it aloud, however. She takes them over to the corner. She explains that Alison was coming home today. And she tells them that their best friend was on Flight 175.

* * *

**_*Meanwhile, in Boston*_ **

After explaining what's wrong and _maybe_ threatening to get her fired, Alison is let off the plane.

After comes out of the gate, she pauses. Looking back, she gets this… _feeling_ …that losing her wallet would be the best mistake she's ever made.

Alison hurries through the crowd of newcomers who have checked for their flights. She reaches the bathroom and bursts through the door, desperate to find her wallet in time before a not-so-good Samaritan gets their hands on it instead.

Alison glances around the bathroom. It's your typical public restroom. Stalls on the right, a row of sinks to the left, and at the opposite end of the door, a changing table for babies.

Alison does not see her wallet. She gets anxious as she searches underneath the sinks and in the stalls, coming up empty.

She gets outside and stops. Her mind is running wild. Could she have put her wallet in her suitcase? The one that is not her carry-on bag and is in the airplane already?

She most certainly did not see it in her purse. She has a small purse, as is common for her during times like this. It is big enough for her cell phone, wallet, car keys, important notes for her meeting, and her cell phone charger.

So, it's not like Alison would have missed it while digging for her MP3.

She hears the intercom come on and the "final call" for her flight being announced. Alison blows out a breath. She wants to believe she misplaced the wallet and left in her other suitcase, but what if she didn't? What if she gets home and in two weeks she receives a notice in the mail about payments due on her credit cards, with purchases she never did herself?

Alison walks to the big bay windows. She watches as the plane pulls away, the doors folds up, and the plane taxis down the runway before it begins it accent into the air.

And that leaves Alison there, officially having missed her flight.

It doesn't register with her that not only are her suitcase and carry-on still on the plane, but so is her purse, which just so happens to contain her cell phone and any change she would need to use a payphone.

* * *

**_*Back in Los Angeles*_ **

"Mama," Emily looks at her little boy. He is every bit of her, but those eyes. My god, do those eyes remind her of Alison. "Mama, why won't Mommy answer her phone?"

Emily takes a deep breath. As much as she wants to breakdown. As much as she feels the need to crawl into her bed and sob into her pillow…she can't do it.

So, instead, she just hugs him. And she whispers that she does not know why mommy won't answer the phone.

Until, the kitchen phone rings.

It's so shrill that it makes nearly everyone in the room jump a mile in the air.

Toby is the one to answer.

Emily watches as his face crumples in unbelievable relief and he holds it out towards Emily.

"I-it's…it's Ali," He chokes out and Emily takes it from him, her hands shaking as she brings it to her ear.

" _Em-Emily?_ "

And she can't think of time she has craved for the sound of, or been more relieved to hear Alison's voice more than she does right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! This was much longer than the others, Chapter 5 will have Alison talking to Emily, the kids, and everyone on the phone.
> 
> Please review, and thank you for reading.


	5. A Sense of Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and the others finally get to speak with Alison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidently deleted the part that explained it, but after Alison gets off the plane, she and the other airport occupants watch the news broadcast of the plane crashes. She is in shock as she realizes that was her plane. Two gentlemen introduces themselves as Josiah and David. They help Alison calm down and Josiah offers her his phone to get in touch with Emily.

**_September 11, 2001_**

* * *

" _E-Em?_ " Alison stutters out her name and Emily can't do anything but sit there. The others watch her. Jon sits on Emily's lap and looks at his mama.

He hears Alison's voice and immediately perks up.

"Mommy!" He practically yanks the phone out of her hands, something he normally wouldn't do, but Emily lets it slide, as she can understand.

"Mommy, you're ok!"

" _Yes, baby_ ," Alison breathes. She laughs breathily and can't remember a time she's been as happy to hear her son's voice as she is now. " _I'm ok. I'm so happy to hear your voice. Is Mama still there? Can I speak to her, please, sweetheart?_ "

"Yes, hang on. Mama," Jon holds the phone out. "Mommy wants to talk to you." Emily takes the phone.

By now, Spencer and Toby are walking around the kitchen, each with a bottle, Spencer feeding Lily, Toby - Grace. Finley is watching intently, still being held by Ezra. Aria is sitting at the table and Harper is in her lap. Hanna and Caleb are leaning against the doorway.

"Alison," Emily is surprised she doesn't stutter or falter in speaking. "Ali, are you ok? W-why-where are you? Please tell me you are safe."

" _I'm…I'm all right,_ " Alison says fully believing, for the first time since everything happened she _is_ ok. " _I'm here at the airport_ ," Alison's voice cracks and she sniffles. " _I got off the plane, Emmy_ ," Suddenly, she feels like a scared 6-year-old telling her parents about a bad dream.

" _I got off the plane and then I-I-I heard about what-…_ " She trails off unable to actually say the words _I got off before the plane was hijacked and crashed_.

"I'm so happy you are okay," Emily tells her. "I love you, sweetheart. I love you so much. You're going to ok, all right? We'll get you home somehow and everything is going to be ok." With tears streaming down her face, Emily looks to her friends. She can see the relief on their faces.

"Aunt Emmy," Finn says, looking at her with his big, innocent blue eyes. "Please, I talk to Auntie Ali?" It's just so _Finley_ that Emily actually laughs, nods, and motions for him to come over. He eagerly lets his legs dangle from Ezra's waist so he is let down and then he runs over.

Taking the phone, Finley holds it in the normal "kid" fashion, with one hand on top and one on the bottom.

"Hi, Auntie Ali!" He says, smiling his adorable little grin.

" _Finn! Hey, Lil' Booger, what are you up to?_ "

"Nothing! I haved no school t'day!" He says because Ezra and Aria homeschool him. Ezra does Mondays and Wednesdays, Aria does Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Fridays is a free day, unless they have something they need to finish from the other days.

" _You didn't?_ " Alison asks. " _Well, lucky you_!"

"Uh-huh. I had a fwee day. But it not Fwiday!"

" _I know, it's only Tuesday, huh?_ " Alison smiles again at his _uh-huh_. " _That's pretty cool you get a free day for a Tuesday._ "

They talk for a bit more before Harper comes over. "Finny, I wanna talk too, okay? Let me see the phone." Finn obediently hands the phone over, then goes to get a chair and pushes it over. Harper sits in it and lets Finn climb into her lap.

"Hi, Auntie Ali," Harper says. "How are you? Did you see the news?" Not knowing she should probably avoid the topic, she continues. "Your plane crashed into the South Tower! Auntie Em said you were supposed to be on the plane, but you weren't on there."

Alison sighs quietly. She really doesn't want to talk about it but she also does not want to be rude to her niece.

" _I just missed my flight, that's all, Harp. I was in the bathroom and could not get to the gate fast enough._ "

"Oh," Harper nods. "Ok." She accepts that answer because once when she was nine, she was in the bathroom with her mom, Aria, and her then-one-year-old brother Finley. Finley was sitting on the counter and was going through a phase where he would take all the contents of his diaper bag and throw them across the room.

Needless to say, once Aria got all the things back in the bag, picked up her purse and ushered Finley and Harper out of the bathroom, and got to the gate, their plane was shut off and preparing to taxy down the runway.

Harper goes on to speak to her aunt about the normal things an aunt and niece talk about. Next, the phone goes back to Jon. He asks when Ali is going to be home and other questions.

After about 15 minutes of everyone else speaking to Alison, Emily suddenly has the need to hear her voice again so she asks to have the phone back.

Emily just talks to Alison. About anything and everything, even stupid stuff. Just to keep her speaking, soaking in the feeling Alison's voice gives her. She will never, in her entire life, take the sound of her wife's voice for granted again.

* * *

**_Boston, Massachusetts_ **

* * *

**_*2 hours later*_ **

For nearly hours, Alison and every other occupant of the airport stare at the television. No one can believe what they are seeing.

They watch in disbelief as the planes hit the towers, and then the news reports planes crashing into the Pentagon and an empty field. And then, everyone watches in utter terror as the Twin Towers begin falling, folding in on themselves as if they were made of nothing more than dirt and sticks.

Everyone is calling their loved ones, or getting their own calls. They call to check in, to tell them they are ok, they call to talk to the people on the planes. Ali can hear the heartbreaking sobs of a woman when she realizes her daughter was on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

For the first time in anytime at all, Alison looks around and sees people putting their own problems aside to hold a stranger in comfort, to lend someone a cell phone, to share in the good news that a loved one is safe.

And Ali looks to David and Josiah, and their daughter Rachel, who have stayed with her the past few hours.

"Alison, honey," Josiah says in his soothing voice. "Do you have place where you can stay? Do you need David and I to drive you anywhere? If you do not, you are more than welcome to come and stay with us."

Alison accepts this offer because, even if she did not want to, she would have nowhere to stay and she knows the airport will still be open to sending and receiving planes and even if they were, she has no money whatsoever to buy another plane ticket.

So, it is settled that they will accommodate Alison in their home. They take her to Wal*Mart to get her the basics. To start off, they get five t-shirts, five pairs of sweatpants/shorts, and some underwear and socks (Alison is most embarrassed about this, what grown woman wants two, strange men buying her undergarments?), a bottle of shampoo, and a hairbrush and toothbrush and tooth paste.

They also buy her a small backpack, one that is big enough for everything, for when she travels home.

They also get her a pay-as-you-go phone, since hers was on the plane. They want her to be able to get in touch with her family whenever possible.

No one, not Alison, not David or Josiah, or anyone else knows when it is possible that the airports will be back open, meaning Alison going home is still of an unknown date.

So, until then, Josiah and David will keep their home open to Alison. They comfort her on the night of the eleventh. They calm her after her nightmare where she was actually _on_ the plane and they remind her, gently and softly, that that is not true. That she got off the plane. That she is safe and alive and okay.

Alison calls Emily on her burner phone and tells her and Jon goodnight. She tells Emily to give Lily and Grace an extra hug and kiss from her and she sleeps until nearly nine the next morning, being woken up by the smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon **.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is it! The next chapter will have a big time jump, two weeks in the future.
> 
> I really wanted to have Emily hop in her car and drive all the way from Los Angeles to Boston. I feel like, during this time, all rationality would go out the window and that would probably be something she would do. I won't do that but I think what I am going to do will be just as realistic.


	6. On My Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alison finally arrives home after being gone for almost a month. She tries to fly and when that doesn't go well, Em drives cross-country to pick her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been slacking over here, I just haven't felt like posting. A03 is so much more difficult to update/post on than FF.net, but nevertheless, here is chapter 6. I also want to give a shoutout to everyone who has given Kudos. Thank you! 😊
> 
> As always...
> 
> Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters, including Lily and Grace. I do own Jonathan Dilaurentis-Fields and all other children.  
> Spoilers: None  
> Rating: T to be safe
> 
> Notes: I am not sure how long after 9/11 it was before airports opened back up, but I am going to go with two weeks for the sake of this story.
> 
> Trigger Warning: This chapter has an actual dialogue of the plane's hijacking. Please be cautious and it will be marked.

* * *

  ** _September 18th, 2001  
Boston, Massachusetts_ **

* * *

**_*2 weeks later*_ **

It is not until two full weeks later that the airports open back up. On September 12, the day after what is now being called 9/11, Emily had wanted to jump in her car and drive straight to Boston to get Alison.

It took Spencer, Toby, Aria, and Alison herself to talk Emily out of that. They may be well off, but they certainly do not have enough money to make the roundtrip of what would probably be 3+ days, especially when you add in stops for gas, food, and other things.

Finally, Emily relented. She has spoken to Alison each day in the weeks that followed the terrorists attacks. She made sure that Josiah and his husband were taking care of Ali and she let Ali speak to the kids over the phone.

Alison called her parents, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, Jason, Emily's parents, everyone one by one, and let them know that she was ok.

Now here it is, 2 weeks later. 14 days have passed since everyone's lives were been turned upside down.

People are still over at the crash site of what was once the Twin Towers. They have moved from a Search and Rescue, to a Search and Recovery.

They are unearthing nothing as of right now. No bodies can be found among the wreckage. Those that _do_ find a body, well, it is nothing more than a hand or leg that once belonged to someone.

There are so many Missing Persons posters listing names of loved one, firefighters, paramedics, and other people who were in the Towers when the planes hit. People who were killed, lost in the wreckage, or simply seemed to have vanished.

Today is the first day that the airports are opening back up and Josiah and David immediately buy Alison a ticket on the first flight back to Los Angeles.

Alison thanks them profusely for their hospitality and putting up with her during the nights, when she had dreams about being on the planes, about dying, about having to call Emily and tell her, her plane had been hijacked.

"Alison," David says to her in his soothing voice. "Please, it was our pleasure. You needed a place to stay and we had more than enough room. It was no bother all, Hun."

"You've done more than open up your home to me," Alison explains. "You comforted me, you let me come into your home and disrupt your life, you made sure I had clothes to wear, food to eat, you've spent so much money, I don't think I could ever fully thank you for that."

Josiah and David drive Alison to the airport after dropping Rachel off at school. They follow her as far as they can before giving her a hug and a 'good luck' as they watch her head towards the gate to her plane.

Alison, once again, gets in line. She hands the person her ticket, walks down the tunnel, and gets to the plane and all the way to her seat.

It is only when she is buckled in, that what she is doing catches up with her.

The air suddenly feels too thick. She can't breathe. Alison tries to take calming breaths as she leans back in and turns the little air vent towards her face.

But then, her dream comes back full force.

**_***_ ** _"This is a hijacking!" One man, with a bandana on, yells. People start freaking out, crying and shouting._

_"Everybody shut up, stay seated, and no one will get hurt!" The man continues._

_It isn't long before Alison is alerted to the pilot and co-pilot being shot and the cockpit being taken over._

_People begin crying and looking around. Some are shot, as they try to be heroes, try to take these guys down only to get a bullet or stab wound instead._

_Alison's heart drops as she begins to fully understand what is happening._

_Everyone is herded to the back of the plane. They group up back there. The people speak to each other. They call loved ones, 911, and there's talk about a group of them overpowering these hijackers and getting the plane back in their control._

_Alison hears as one man is speaking to his wife. He tells them the Pentagon has been hit. He tells them there are other planes that have been or are being hijacked._

_The person next to Alison looks to her. She gently tells the blonde that_ she _needs to do it. Alison needs to call whoever it is she needs to speak with, and she needs to let her loved ones know what is going on. *******_

And just like that, Alison is back in the present. Her heart is racing and her palms feel sweaty.

She can't do this. What was she thinking? Is she crazy? Someone once told her that flying is the safest form of transportation, but they obviously did not know of possible hijackings that could take place on said planes.

She needs to get home to her family, to her wife and children, but there has to be a better way. A safer way to do this.

The air blowing in her face is more of nuisance than a help. She can't breathe. The last time she felt like this, this nervous, this panicky, was when she was 10 years old and about to play her very first soccer game.

The elephant that sat on her chest, the one that made her panic and breath funny and cry and worry and just all around made her _not_ want to play, well, it's back. With a vengeance.

Alison stands from her seat. She goes to door and demands to be let out. It isn't until she starts making a fuss, making a scene that has the pilot coming to find out what the noise is about, that she is let off the plane.

She grabs her backpack and jacket and runs off the plane. Alison glances at her phone.

It's only been 10 minutes since she boarded the plane. 10 minutes that felt like hours to the blonde.

She guesses she will just have to find another way home.

Maybe she _should_ have let Emily take the trip down here to pick her up.

She sighs as she dials the Berrys' phone number. David picks up and doesn't say a word except for, " _Don't worry, sweetheart. We stayed just in case. We are out front. Just come on out, unless you need one of us to come and get you?_ "

Alison says she does not and that she will be right out.

She really will not be able to thank Josiah and David enough for all they have done.

* * *

**_*3 days later*_ **

It's three days later that Alison is looking out of the windows of the Berrys' living room. It's after lunchtime, about 1:30 in the afternoon.

Since the plane trip was a no-go, Alison had called Emily up and told her she could come and get her, if she still wanted to.

Of course, Emily said yes right away.

She made plans for Jon and the twins, took time off her work, and got everything ready. The plan is for Emily and Toby to make the trip from Los Angeles to Boston. They are going to stop at the halfway point at a hotel and freshen up before continuing on.

They are to arrive today, at any minute.

This is officially the longest that Alison has ever been away from Emily and she is ready for it to be over with.

To be home with her wife and children.

To be able to kiss them and hug them goodnight and read Jon another story, feed Lily and Grace another bottle, and talk to her family and friends in person, instead of over the phone.

Finally, they get there.

Finally, Alison is throwing open the door and running into the drive.

Finally, she is wrapped in her wife's arms and she is kissing her, touching, listening to her voice, and _feeling_ her.

_Finally,_ Alison feels as if she can breathe again.

She turns to where Josiah and David are waiting on the porch.

She and Emily and even Toby give them a hug, thank them profusely for what they have done and then they are off.

It's nearly 48 hours later, in the dead of night, when they pull up at the house.

Nearly a month has passed since Alison was last home, a little over 3 weeks, to be specific. She can't believe it has been that long.

That long since she was giving Emily long goodbye kisses in bed. That long since running out the door, driving to the airport, and flying to Boston.

Almost that long since everything happened on that fateful, sunny, Tuesday morning.

_That long_ since she was _home_.

And right now, she couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! The next chapter will be #7. I think this will end up being an even 10 chapters. Also over the next to to three chapters, there will be several times skips. Please review, give Kudos, subscribe, all that. :)
> 
> Next Up: October 1st, 2001 – Alison's first day home since everything that has happened.


End file.
